A Study Of Yunnan Businessmen And Their Commercial Activities In Ming And Qing Dynasties

The Ming and Qing dynasties were the last peak period for the development of the commodity economy in ancient Chinese feudal society,and also an important period for economic development in Yunnan.Similar to the rise of businessmen everywhere and the emergence of regional business groups and business gangs,Yunnan businessmen at that time also began to rise under the stimulation of the business trend across the country.Riding on the east wind of the times,they relied on the management of Yunnan by the rulers of the Ming and Qing dynasties,the continued development of Yunnan by the Han immigrants,the natural environment of Yunnan and its location advantages.They gradually strengthened their forces and actively participated in competing with businessmen from other provinces for the Yunnan market.In the struggle,they accumulated a lot of wealth in long-term business activities.Later,this group became a member of the local folk elite with its wealth and social status,playing an increasingly important role in local affairs.This article takes the existing biographies of merchants recorded in the Yunnan History as the main research material,and uses a combination of economics,sociology,and anthropology to analyze the development and growth of Yunnan merchants in the Ming and Qing dynasties,and examine their business activities.On the one hand,it analyzes the interaction between the Yunnan businessmen and the local society during the Ming and Qing Dynasties,and then summarizes the historical limitations of the Yunnan businessmen in the Ming and Qing dynasties,and provides a reference for further exerting the role of the Yunnan businessmen in today’s opening up.The introductory part of this article mainly includes the reasons and the meaning of choosing the topic,the definition of the concept,the research methods,etc.By combing the current academic research results of Yunnan businessmen and the regional economy of Yunnan in the Ming and Qing Dynasties,it points out the particularity of this topic and the research purpose and significance of the thesis.The first chapter mainly discusses the rise and development of businessmen in Yunnan during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.First,it summarizes the social foundation of the rise of Yunnan businessmen in the Ming and Qing dynasties through four perspectives: the origin of the times,the origin of the environment,the origin of policies,and the agricultural and commercial economic traditions of Yunnan Province.The form of the list presents the records of the biography of Yunnan businessmen in local history,and analyzes its distribution and group composition according to the table.The second chapter focuses on the business activities of Yunnan businessmen during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.Due to the development of the Yunnan economy by the rulers of the Ming and Qing dynasties and the inland immigrants who were constantly moving in,Yunnan businessmen at that time not only increased their business types,but also expanded the scope of their business activities.With further development,they accumulated a lot of wealth in long-term foreign trade.The awareness of internal integration continued to increase,and business gangs and gang gangs became the main organizational form of businessmen in this period.The third chapter discusses the interaction between Yunnan businessmen and local society during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.Along with the growing power of businessmen in Yunnan and their demands for participating in local affairs,improving their social status have also increased.After becoming rich through business,businessmen in Yunnan have played an increasingly important role in the construction of local market networks,the maintenance of grassroots social order,the construction of local culture and education,and the integration of ethnic minorities.The conclusion part focuses on analyzing the historical limitations of Yunnan businessmen in the Ming and Qing Dynasties,in order to have a more objective understanding of this group.At the same time,it points out the practical significance of this topic research,that is,the enlightenment we can get from it.Since the Yunnan businessmen have had an important influence on local society in the history and played an important role in foreign exchanges,in the current opening up and local construction,we should pay attention to the role of Yunnan businessmen and entrepreneurs.